


Girl next door

by keinekatze132



Category: Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020), DCU, Harley Quinn (Comics)
Genre: AU different first meeting, F/F, Identity Porn, Secret Identity, batman mention - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:01:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26307493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keinekatze132/pseuds/keinekatze132
Summary: After getting saved by the mysterious Poison Ivy Harley is trying to find answers. If only her beautiful new neighbor Pamela Isley wouldn’t keep distracting her…
Relationships: Pamela Isley/Harleen Quinzel
Comments: 11
Kudos: 148





	1. Chapter 1

Harley ran through the empty streets of Gotham City as fast as she could. The sound of her bare feet hitting the ground echoed from the buildings around her. She had kicked off her high heels to climb out of a window earlier. There were at least three bats following her. She couldn’t quite tell which ones they were as they all looked way to similar in the dark. This was not at all how she had expected her evening to go.

She had her own hubris to blame for this. She had been taking more dangerous jobs lately since she had just moved to a nicer flat and needed money for the rent. Especially since it had become almost impossible to find work as Doctor Harleen Quinzel. Apparently her last client had wildly underestimated the influence of her target as the job had pushed her back to the top of Gotham’s wanted list. The Bats were mad.

She jumped down a bridge onto some train tracks in order to shake them off. Most buildings in this part of the city were abandoned as only shady businesses were willing to move to Gotham anymore. She cursed as the uneven ground almost made her trip. She hadn’t even been working tonight. The only thing she had done was buying some Hot Dogs. And she had gotten really good ones from a greasy little shop close to her new flat. But apparently people in that part of Gotham were not used to seeing supervillains on the street as someone must have called the cops on her.

She had tried to use a close by fire escape to make a run over the roofs, but there was nothing that could guarantee one the Batman’s attention as much as fleeing from the police while jumping over buildings. She cursed her own bad choices. She was completely out of breath by now and her steps got less secure as she felt herself getting closer to passing out. She could hear the engines of a motorbike behind her.   
“All right,” she thought, “that’s it”.  
The bike passed her and cut her off. The blonde hair poking out from under the mask identified the driver as Batgirl. Harley turned around, not giving up after all this running and saw two more figures in capes walking towards her. As far as she could tell, the Batman himself was not one of them but that was only little comfort as she desperately looked for another way out.

She was preparing herself for a fight, not willing to surrender when she suddenly heard a loud crash like glass was breaking. The Bats started shouting as purple mist started to rise from the source of the noise. She became even dizzier and before she could really process what had happened she found herself hitting the floor. The last thing she saw before she passed out was a woman dressed all green and wearing a gas mask walking towards her.

Harley woke up on a roof not far from where the chase had first started. She carefully sat up, ignoring the urge to get sic. Her legs burned and her feet were bloody. The sky still was pitch black so she couldn’t have been out for more than a few hours. Carefully she tried to walk a few steps. It hurt like hell, but she would be able to get herself home. She clenched her teeth and looked for a way down.

When she woke up again it was noon and she was at home in her own bed. The first thing Harley noticed was how hungry she was. She had to leave behind most of her dinner yesterday and had missed two meals since. Getting up was uncomfortable and walking even more so, but it was bearable. The only thing left in her kitchen was cereal so she poured herself a huge bowl and sat down with it on the floor resting against the counter.

While eating she realized how close she had come to going back to Arkham that night. Everything she had built up over the last year would have gone to waste. Her new flat would have been rented to someone else once her payments had stopped and all of her stuff would have been thrown out. Worst of all, she would have been stuck in the same building as the Joker for who knows how long. She had to stop herself from mentally going that way as her hands started to tremble too hard for her to eat.

Instead she tried to remember the woman that had saved her. Harley had heard of the anti-hero calling herself Poison Ivy even though their paths had never crossed. It was hard to tell the difference between reality and myth with her, especially since she was known for intoxicating her enemies. She tried to remember the figure she had seen in the mist, but her memory was blurry. She could recall long hair but no face. Had she been wearing a mask? Harley dropped her spoon in frustration. She couldn’t even tell the hair color.

After she had finished eating, Harley checked herself for injuries. Besides the fact that she had run her feet bloody, she was mostly okay. Her legs were full of tiny scratches and her leggings were ruined. She shrugged and threw the leggings onto her bed. Maybe she could make them look good again by cutting out the bloody parts. Or maybe she could cut them up and use them to gag the next target that wouldn’t shut up. It was not like they had been expansive. She went into her bathroom and put bandages around her feet as careful as she could. It was painful but nothing serious. She supposed she would have to wear sneakers for a few weeks. 

After that she could no longer avoid thinking about how she had gotten into this mess. Harley had gotten used to being accepted as a lesser evil. People around Gotham didn’t want to mess with her and Batman and the police were busy hunting the bigger fish. The only thing she had to worry about were old friends who suddenly decided they wanted revenge for whatever Harley had done to them. It had been fun and she had been able to concentrate on her work. This had changed now. She had involuntarily stepped back into the bigger league.

Harley starred into her mirror. She really liked the girl who was looking back. Her colorful eyeshadow was smudged and there was eyeliner all over her face. She looked like a mess and she loved it. Sadly she looked like a very recognizable mess. Her unnatural pale and slightly scarred skin would stand out wherever she would go and her blue and pink hair gave away her identity on sight. She had to change.

There was still a box with neutral make up and a blonde wig around somewhere, she knew it. After messing up most of her flat looking for it, she found it in the back of a kitchen drawer where she could have sworn she stored knives. There even was a pair of black glasses in there. Finding fitting clothes turned out a little harder. In the end she went for some barely ripped jeans of which she was not quite sure if they belonged to her and a white T-shirt. 

The new woman in the mirror was a complete stranger. She looked so serious that Harley had to make a funny face at her. Looking a little closer, she looked older than the woman Harley had been before she had turned into Harley Quinn. An older version of herself that would never exist. Harley turned away, deciding not to dwell on it. After all she would be able to get groceries without getting arrested. She grabbed her keys ready to go.

When Harley tried to leave her flat she knocked the door into something on the other side. She heard a muttered curse when she squeezed through the half open door. The corridor was blocked by a stranger carrying an enormous potted plant. 

“Sorry” she mumbled, trying to walk around it, but the other person successfully managed to knock into her again. 

She was about to let out some of her anger, when the stranger set down the plant to make some room. Incredibly green eyes looked at her through the leaves and Harley squeezed past the plant to find herself right in front of a woman with beautiful red long hair. There was something about her that immediately captured Harley’s attention. 

“Hello” she whispered before she could catch herself.

The woman looked at her curiously. “You must be the new girl” she said. Maybe Harley was imagining things, but she could have sworn she was checking her out.

“Yeah I’m Harley… Harleen” she said. “Why are you carrying a tree?” she asked, hoping to get the conversation under control.

“Stole it” said the woman.

Harley looked at her in surprise. “You stole it?” she repeated.

The woman shrugged. “I like to think I liberated it. The people didn’t know how to handle the poor thing” she said.

Harley found herself nodding. “Yeah, I once stole a hyena for the same reason” she babbled. 

The woman looked at her like she was not sure if Harley was making fun of her. She knew she would have blushed if she still had been able to.

“Anyway, I’m sorry for blocking the entire building” the woman said. 

“Why don’t you make it up and invite me for drinks?” Harley said before she could stop herself.

The woman laughed. “I might” she said and picked up her plant. “By the way, I’m Pamela”

“Nice to meet you Pamela!” Harley called after her. It took her a moment to remember she had gone out to get groceries.

It was almost evening before Harley made it home again. She unlocked her door with one hand and threw the overfull grocery bags into the kitchen. She managed to talk herself into putting at least the things away that needed to go into the fridge. Her flat was still a mess but she decided that was a problem for later. What she really needed right now was some rest. 

She kicked off her shoes off and threw the stuff that was laying on her bed onto her chair before laying down. But instead of relaxing her mind went back to the night before. If she hadn't been lucky... 

Harley shook her head. It hadn't been luck. She had been saved by no one else than Poison Ivy. Harley couldn't help but ask herself why. Maybe Ivy had a quarrel with the Bats and she had gotten caught in between the lines. But that wouldn't explain why Ivy had brought her back home. At least she assumed that it was Ivy who had carried her to the roof she had woken up on.

She sighed, realizing that her mind would keep her up a little longer. She found her phone laying on the floor and opened a map of Gotham. She found the place she had jumped on the tracks from and tried to figure out how far she had made it before the Bats had caught up. It was not the kind of place where one would just walk into people. There were barely any streets close to the tracks and most of the properties around were owned by private companies, some of which stood empty.

She decided that meant Ivy wouldn’t have been there without a reason. It was most likely Ivy was involved into something around the area and had been disturbed when Harley had brought the Bats right to her front door. She felt a little bad about it but maybe that meant Harley could find her. It didn’t take long to mark the places most likely for a hideout. It had to be a place close enough to the tracks to notice the chase and private enough to come and go without drawing attention to oneself. She could narrow it down on two different buildings. After all she was basically an overpaid bounty hunter at this point. 

Harley jumped off her bed, suddenly feeling way less tired. She was not quite sure why, but she wanted to find Poison Ivy. Changing her appearance back to herself was easier than putting on a disguise and she was ready to go in no time. It was hasty, she realized. She wasn’t even sure what to do if she found Ivy. She felt like she might offer her help after Ivy had helped her before. At least she could get a clearer picture of someone operating in Gotham. She shrugged. She had never been someone to think things all the way through. 

She was about to leave, when she saw a note under her door. Slightly concerned she picked it up. She could tell right away that it was not a threatening note as she had expected. Harley had to turn on the light to read it. In neat letters it said:

‘Meet me in the coffee shop down the street? I’ll be there tomorrow around five. – Pamela’

A little flower was drawn next to the name which made Harley smile. She couldn’t believe her awkwardness had actually scored her a date. She would have to make sure to be back in time. Thinking about it, it might be better not to walk though her front door dressed as Harley Quinn. She carefully put the note on her kitchen table and started to climb out of the window.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I’m sorry this took a little longer. I had planned to finish this before my vacation, but I had trouble connecting two scenes. I ended up with this short chapter from Ivy’s POV and I finally like it! So thanks for bearing with me!

The greenhouse was dark and humid but Ivy didn't mind. She could find her way around just fine and her plants grew best in the dark. This basement of an abandoned factory had been a lucky find. At least it had been until she had carelessly given away its location when she had saved Harley Quinn from the Batman’s footmen. She sighed. There was no reason to regret it now but she had a decision to make.

She could stay, hoping her hideout was hidden well enough. Or she could look for another space, risking to be caught while moving her equipment. Ivy didn't like either option. She absent minded stroked a leaf. The plant shivered slightly under her fingers. It was a rare hybrid, illegal in most parts of the country for its poison. What Ivy was planning with it was most certainly illegal.

She was ripped out of her thoughts by the beeping of her security system. Ivy starred at it in shock. She hadn't expected to be found just so quickly. It wasn't like the Bat to start an attack without a careful crafted plan. At least she had some security measures in place.

There was only one stairway to the basement. It was one of the reasons she had chosen the place. When she reached it, the intruder was already tied up by various tendrils. The light shining down the stairs made it possible for her to watch her without stepping out of the shadows herself. With some surprise she realized it was Harley Quinn, the girl she had saved the night before.

Harley was struggling to free herself, going even so far as to bite the plant holding her in place. Ivy was glad she hadn’t picked a more poisonous option. After watching a little longer she cleared her throat, making Harley aware of her presence. Harley immediately stopped moving and squinted into the dark. 

“Poison Ivy?” Harley called.

“What do you want?” Ivy asked.

Harley seemed a little put off by the question. “To say thank you, I guess?” she said, not sounding entirely convinced. 

Ivy frowned. She should have known that helping someone like Harley Quinn would have consequences. “Who sent you?” she asked.

Harley looked genuinely surprised. “I don’t work for anyone!” she said. “Listen, I was just wondering why you would help me”.

“Yeah sure” Ivy said. “That’s why you hunted down my secret hideout and tried to sneak in in the middle of the night”

“That’s not fair” said Harley. “You saw what happens when I go out during daytime last time”

Ivy shrugged even though Harley couldn’t possibly see her. “How did you find me anyway?”

Harley explained it to her. Ivy had to admit she was a little impressed. She supposed she had underestimated the girl based on her first impression. Still, no matter Harley’s intention this was bad news.

“If you managed to find me within a single day, it won’t be long until the Batman does the same” she said. “If you excuse me, I have equipment to move”. 

She was about to leave Harley hanging until she had packed up. There was no reason to let her poke around in her business any longer. She was already walking away when Harley called:

“Hey wait! Why don’t we team up?”

Ivy stopped. “What did you say?” she asked. 

“Why don’t we team up?” Harley repeated herself. “Or at least pretend to do so until the Bats leave you alone. If they see us together they won’t think that I just ran into you by accident and you hideout will be safe”.

Ivy could see the reasoning behind her plan. Still, she couldn’t afford to trust her. “What’s in it for you?” she asked.

Harley made a motion that looked like a shrug. It was hard to tell as she was still all tied up. “Don’t know” she said. “I guess I feel a little bad for leading them right to your front door”.

It would be an understatement to say it was hard to believe her. Still, it did fit the image she had gotten of Harley Quinn so far. She had noticed, that Harley had followed some messed up morale code since she had been on her own. There had been some very mixed reports on her. Maybe Ivy just happened to find a place in it today. Anyway, it was not like there were many options to choose from. At least she might be able to disappear in silence while playing Harleys game as long as necessary. 

“Okay” she said.

“Huh?” asked Harley.

“Okay, I’m going to play along” she repeated.

A big smile appeared on Harleys face. “That’s great!” she said, “I’ve always wanted to be part of a cool villain team up! Do you think we should get matching outfits?” she asked.

Ivy sighed. “Meet me tomorrow night at Robinson park” she said and turned to leave.

“All right!” Harley said, “See you tomorrow!”

Ivy kept on walking. 

“Wait, are you not going to untie me?” she asked.

“The plants will let you go if you stop struggling” she lied. “Just don’t go scouting around. I won’t help you if you activate any worse traps”

Harley mumbled something Ivy couldn’t quite catch. She walked back to her improvised control room and pushed the right buttons to release a chemical into the soil that would free Harley. To her surprise Harley left the building right away. Ivy appreciated it. She turned her mind to the problem at hand. 

There was a good chance that Harley would sell her location to the highest bidder right away. But she would need a lot of preparation to move. She didn’t even have a new building in mind and she couldn’t just store everything in her flat. She couldn’t help but smile a little about that idea. Maybe she would crash once more into her new neighbor if she attempted to do so. But realistically there was no where she could move that night. 

As things were she had two priorities right now: Find a new hideout and prepare a plan for Harley’s weird team up. If they were to fool the Bats she had to come up with a believable coup for the two of them until tomorrow. While she was at it, it couldn’t hurt to check her security systems once more. She sighed. It looked like she didn’t have time to waste.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning Harley was in high spirits. The night before had gone even better than she had expected. Well, maybe she had spent the entire time she had been talking to Ivy tied up by a vine and maybe she still hadn’t gotten a clear look at Ivy’s face. But now Harley was part of a brand new team up and starting to make her own contacts in Gotham’s underworld. Maybe playing in the bigger league wasn’t so bad after all.

Still, there was a voice in the back of her mind, reminding her that she and Ivy were only pretending to be working together. Harley chose to ignore it for now. If nothing else came off it, Ivy would at least owe her a favor. It was more important to properly prepare for the team up for now. After all, they had to fool Batman. 

Harley poured herself some coffee and started to work. She supposed it would help to make a mind map first. It was a method she had grown fond of at university. After some searching she found a sheet of paper and a pen in the mess on her desk. Not willing to clean she sat down on the floor. In capital letters she wrote “Team Up” in the middle of it and underlined it twice. Then she started thinking. 

She had to admit that in the past she had mostly played the role of a henchman so there wasn’t much experience to work from. She kept picturing it like that one episode of the Powerpuff Girls where Mojo Jojo, Him, Princess Morbucks, and Fuzzy Lumpkins all worked together. She wrote down “funny team name” and “don’t fall in love with a monkey”. That was probably a good start. Also she still loved the idea of matching outfits. One of the main reasons she disliked the Justice league was because none of them made any effort to match. It was not that hard to get some matching shirts! They could even make a black version for Batman! She wrote down “coordinated looks” and underlined it. 

Harley checked the time on her phone. She hadn’t forgotten that she was supposed to meet her neighbor Pamela at five. Even though she had slept in, she still had a few hours before she had to start to get ready. Maybe she could at least adjust her look a little to fit Ivy’s aesthetics. Sadly she had barely any idea what Ivy’s whole thing was. Besides plants of course. 

With a little hesitation she wrote down “green” and “flowers” and made a line to “coordinated outfits”. That would be enough for the beginning. Green eyeshadow was the obvious choice here and it would be easy to sew flowers made out of left over fabric to her hair ties. The destroyed leggings that were still lying next to her bed could be cut up for it. Thinking of leggings, she could probably grab some green ones on her way to the coffee shop that afternoon. She closed her eyes and imagined what it would look like. She was pretty happy with it. Harley jumped up to find some scissors and grabbed the leggings. 

She ended up with plenty of time before her date once she had everything finished. This time she put way more effort into covering up her white face with makeup. Her goal before had been to look as ordinary as possible but this time she wanted at least a little bit of her true self to shine through. It was more nerve-wracking than it should have been. Harley realized she was a little bit nervous. After all, it was her first date in ages. She winked at herself in the mirror and tried to shake it off. 

“Let’s see what this Pamela is made of” she mumbled to herself as she grabbed her jacket. 

When she arrived at the shop she was a little early even though she had stopped to buy new leggings on her way there. For a moment she just stood in front of it indecisive. It felt a little weird to go in and sit around until Pamela got there. She looked down the street and noticed a low hanging fire escape on a building. It was not far so she walked over and climbed up trying not to attract too much attention. Up there she waited, now being able to overlook the whole street. She somehow assumed Ivy would come from her flat so she kept an eye on the road leading to her building. If she would spot her quick enough she might make it look like they had both arrived just at the same time.

“Looking for someone up there?” a voice behind her asked. 

Harley twirled around. Standing on the street below her was Pamela, waving at her. Harley fought down the surprise and gave her a big smile. 

“For you, actually” she said as she jumped down.

Pamela was looking good. She was wearing a button up shirt and jeans. Some dirt was stuck on her heavy boots and Harley wondered if she had been around plants again. 

“Let’s go then” Pamela said and led her towards the coffee shop.

They got a table close to a window. Pamela’s hair looked amazing in the light that fell in and Harley caught herself starring for a moment. Pamela didn’t seem to notice. She looked pretty tired actually. 

“Are you all right?” Harley asked. 

Pamela smiled at her. “Yeah,” she said, “I just had an eventful day at work”.

Harley nodded. “Yeah, me too” she said. It had been quite a week actually. “What do you work as?” she asked.

Pamela hesitated for a moment. “I work in botany” she finally said. 

“And here I was thinking you only stole plants” Harley laughed. That explained the soil on her boots. 

Pamela giggled. “No, I only do that when there is a chance I will bump into cute girls with it” she said.

Harley laughed, glad she couldn’t blush anymore.

At that moment they were interrupted by a waitress who came by to take their orders. Harley hadn’t even looked at the menu yet, but there had been a sign advertising some sparkly raspberry drink outside that had looked really good. Pamela ordered a black coffee and a muffin so Harley also got a muffin. Maybe her taste for sweets was better than her choice of hot drinks. 

“So what do you do for a living” Pamela asked.

Harley had expected that question. “I have a PHD in psychology but I’ve been working as a freelancer lately” she said, glad it was technically not a lie. 

“Wow that’s cool!” Pamela said. “I never got my PHD” she admitted.

Harley shrugged. “PHDs are overrated anyway” she said and Pamela smiled.

They talked about their time at university a little. Harley could tell from the way Pamela talked that she was really passionate about Botany. It seemed like she had loved the plants more than the people she sometimes mentioned. The more Harley listened to her, the more curious she got. 

They only stopped talking once their food arrived. Harleys drink was an abomination of raspberry syrup, cream, sugar and a little coffee. She loved it! The blueberry muffin also looked fantastic. She wondered if the store offered takeout. If so, she might become a regular. 

Pamela took a sip of coffee and sighed pleased. “Exactly what I needed” she said. 

Harley couldn’t quite relate. A full cup of coffee tended to make her jumpy. But she supposed for some people a cup of coffee was what a greasy hotdog was to her. 

“Do you come here often?” Harley asked, cringing at how cliché the line was. 

Pamela nodded. “Yeah, I like to have breakfast after work here. It’s a little comfort when I have to work late” she said.

Harley gave her a sympathetic look. “Do you get the nightshift regularly?” she asked. 

Ivy shrugged. “More often than I would like it. But what has to get done has to get done”.

Harley smiled. “I like that mentality” she said. Somewhere in the back of her mind she made a little note that Pamela wouldn’t be put off by weird working hours. The realistic part of her mind told her that she would probably be put off by what Harley called work. She silenced the realistic part of her mind for now.

They ended up spending hours in the coffee shop talking about all sorts of topics. Pamela seemed to actually listen to Harley when she was babbling about whatever came to her mind. It was strange. Until now Harley hadn’t even noticed that people usually didn’t. In turn Harley learned a little about Pamela’s political views. Apparently she was doing some activism to save the environment. Harley could respect that. She was trying to do something good without putting herself on a moral high ground the way superheroes liked to do. 

Harley was shocked when she looked out of the window and realized the sun was already setting. The time with Pamela had passed extremely fast. Pamela followed Harleys gaze and looked as surprised as Harley felt.

“Is it actually this late or did we get caught in some strange time heist?” Pamela asked.

“I know!” Harley said. “This can’t be right”.

Pamela looked a little disappointed. “I have to meet a coworker later so I should probably go home” she said.

“Yeah. I also have plans” Harley agreed. “Wanna walk home together?” she asked.

Ivy smiled. “Sure” she said. 

For some reason the way home took twice as long as it should have taken them even though Harley could have sworn they were only walking for a minute or so. Maybe she should really ask Poison Ivy later if she had heard of any time anomalies in the area. They said goodbye in front of Harley’s door. She was about to go inside when she remembered something.

“Wait, let me give you my number,” she said. “I think that’s faster than shoving notes under my door”

Ivy smiled. “Sure” she said.

Once Harley was back inside her flat she was in a bit of a hurry to get ready. She and Ivy had agreed to meet at night, which was a little vague. Harley had planned to be there once it was dark. She quickly got dressed and did her Make-Up and hair. She was glad “messy” had always been part of her look. She noticed she hadn’t yet decided what weapon to bring. With a bit of hesitation she picked her trusty old mallet.

She had almost opened her front door when she heard steps in the corridor. Harley could have cursed. It was probably Pamela going out to meet her coworker. She shouldn’t be so careless. She waited for a few more minutes to make sure Pamela had left before she once again climbed out of her window. 

It was completely dark outside once she had arrived in Robinson Park. The lights of the city didn’t reach far into the park and soon Harley could barely see her own steps. She wasn’t worried. It was a perfect place for a meet up. Still, she wasn’t sure how to find Ivy. The park was big enough to miss each other. She supposed she had no other choice than to go further inside when a figure stepped out of the shadows in front of her. 

“So you decided to show up” a female voice said.

Harley stepped a little closer. “Ivy?” she asked.

“What? Are you expecting anyone else?” the woman asked.

Ivy stepped into the moonlight. She was dressed all green and Harley could see long red hair that looked a little like Pamela’s. Her face was covered by a domino mask that was shaped to look like leaves. She was stunning. 

“No, of course not” Harley said. 

Ivy gave her a skeptical look. “All right then. Did you come up with a plan” she asked.

“Plan?” Harley asked.

“Yeah a plan. This whole team up was your idea” Ivy said.

Harley shook her head. “I thought this was about being seen together”. 

Ivy frowned. “So you thought we were going to fool the Bat by you wearing green?” she asked.

Harley crossed her arms. That was unnecessary patronizing. “I don’t know about you but I’ve run into the Bat multiple times and he knows that I would totally dress up for a team up. Have you ever looked at me?” she asked. “Either we do this right, matching looks included, or we don’t do this at all”.

Ivy’s expression softened. “I’m sorry” she said. “I just really can’t afford to trust you yet” she said. 

Harley clenched her teeth. She should have seen that coming. “So a plan, huh?” she asked.

“Don’t worry, I’ve prepared something just in case” Ivy said. “I’ve heard you had some troubles with the police lately?” she asked.

Harley nodded. It had been more difficult lately. 

Ivy smiled. “Let’s lock them up in their own station” she said.

“Huh?” Harley asked.

“I’ve been engineering on some incredibly fast growing trailing plants” she explained. “If we are fast enough we should be able to swathe the entire station before they notice. Lock them up for once”.

Harley liked that idea. She could already imagine Commissioner Gordons face! “That will absolutely get the Bats attention!” she said. 

“So it’s decided then?” Ivy asked. 

Harley nodded. 

Ivy walked her through the plan. Harley noticed that a lot of thought must have gone into it. Maybe she had assumed Harley didn’t have a plan from the beginning. It was hard to read her. The plan seemed simple enough. First burry the seeds without being seen, then waiting for Ivy to do her plant magic. After that they had to make sure a few police men saw their faces before they ran away. Ivy handed her half of the seeds. 

“Let’s go” she said. 

The Gotham Police department was a well-lit building with a bunch of cameras surrounding it. Harley knew not all cameras were actually recording but it was hard to tell which were real and which were fake. The two of them hid in an alley on the backside of the building. If everything went according to plan, Harley would sneak around the left side while Ivy took care of the right. They would meet up at the main entrance and Ivy could do her magic stuff. 

On Ivy’s sign Harley crept out of the shadows towards the building. She kept tossing seeds into gaps in the pavement while trying to dodge the cameras. Ivy’s plan was smart. If they had planned anything bigger like planting a bomb she would have gotten caught but the security system was not set up for someone planting seeds. 

She had already made it halfway around the building when suddenly a window opened right above her. Harley stayed absolutely still, hoping no one would look down. Two male voices were chatting inside the building. It sounded like they were standing right in front of the window. Harley’s legs started shaking from crouching but she didn’t dare to move. Someone threw a cigarette out of the window and it hit Harley’s shoulder. It left a little hole in her shirt and she had to use all her willpower not to yelp in surprise. After what felt like ages but couldn’t have been more than a minute the window closed again and Harley moved on.

When Harley made it to the front of the building she could see Ivy already waiting on the other side. Harley gave her a sign that she was ready. Ivy nodded and the two of them ran from their hideout towards the main entrance tossing seeds at the building. This was the trickiest part. They had to be quick about it. 

In front of the door Ivy kneeled down and touched the ground. Harley could hear shouting from the inside of the building. She grabbed her mallet and positioned herself in front of the door. Through the glass in the door she could see multiple police men running towards her.

“Hurry up” she shouted. 

The first man tried to open the door but Harley kicked it back shut. The man stumbled and had to be caught by one of his colleagues. They were about to open the door again when gigantic vines shot out of the ground and crept up the walls of the building. Multiple of them blocked the door for good. Harley twirled around and hugged Ivy. 

“Just in time!” she shouted. 

Ivy laughed and hugged her back. The two of them turned towards the building. There was still enough space between the vines for them to look inside. A crowd had formed in front of the door. Commissioner Gordon appeared at the end of the hallway and shouted something that no one seemed to listen to. Harley blew him a raspberry. 

“That’s what you get for messing with Harley Quinn” Ivy shouted.

Harley giggled. The two of them hugged again before running away.

They hid on a fire escape a few blocks away. It belonged to a run down office building that was empty around this time. The alley below them was full of trash but that didn’t stop Harley’s enthusiasm.

“That was fun” she said. 

Ivy looked at her in surprise. “You know what?” she said. “It really was!”

Harley smiled. Just in that moment the sky lit up as the bat signal was turned on.

“Hey look” she said. “They remembered they could do that”

Ivy snorted. “We totally played them”.

“I know!” Harley said. “That vine stuff was so cool!”

Ivy smiled at her. “It was amazing how you kicked that door into that guy” she said.

“You saw that?” Harley asked. 

Ivy shrugged. “I was concentrating, not blind”.

Harley laughed. She had been kind of proud of that move. It seemed like Ivy finally took her serious. 

“So, uh… Thanks for leading the Bats away from my hideout” Ivy said. “If you ever need anything just ask”. Harley could have sworn she was blushing a little. 

“So I’m allowed to walk into your evil lair from now on?” Harley asked.

Ivy snorted. “Maybe I should give you my number instead” she said.

Harley pulled out her phone and Ivy dictated her number. When she tried to save it she got an error message.

“That’s weird” Harley said. “It says I’ve already got your number saved as… Pamela?” She looked up and starred at her. Now that she knew what to look for she could totally see the resemblance. Ivy didn’t just look a little like her neighbor. She was her neighbor.

“No way” Harley mumbled.

Ivy starred at her in shock. “I’ve got no idea what you are talking-” she started to say. Then she did a double take. “Harleen?” she asked, her voice unusually high.

Harley nodded. The two of them just starred at each other before Harley couldn’t help herself but start giggling. Ivy looked like she was trying to keep a serious face but after a moment she also broke down laughing. They were sitting like this for a while, supporting each other while gasping for air. Once they finally calmed down neither of them seemed to know how to go on.

“So, uh… Wanna walk home together?” Harley asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter after this, y’all! I totally looked up “villain team ups in western animation” to find some dorky analogy for Harley to use. Sorry if I messed up Powerpuff Girls lore.


	4. Chapter 4

Harley had a hard time falling asleep that night. The revelation that the woman she had gone on a date with during daytime was the same woman she had terrorized the police with at night was a lot to handle. She restlessly paced up and down her room knowing she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep if she wanted to. There was a question she was trying not to think about that kept nagging at her. Had she fallen for Poison Ivy?

Harley had bad experiences with dating a super villain. She was still traumatized from her last relationship with the Joker. Still, she couldn’t help but feel like this was different. Pamela had been extremely pleasant to be around. She was smart but had still been kind to her. Harley was sure not all of it could have been for show. Anyway, what could Ivy possibly try to archive by seducing her civilian neighbor?

And Poison Ivy had not been that different now that Harley could see the whole picture. She had been cold and distant at first, but Harley could tell that it was her way of keeping a professional distance. Harley remembered how they had sat together on the fire escape helplessly giggling after the coup. Also, Ivy had apologized after being harsh to her that night. When had the Joker ever apologized to Harley? If anything, she was lucky that the amazing women she had met were the same person.

Harley woke up at noon. At some point she must have fallen asleep, but she couldn’t remember it at all. The last day’s events were still clear in her mind, but in daylight everything seemed a little less urgent. What she really needed to do right now was find something for lunch. She got ready quickly and went out to grab some Kebab. There was a shop not that far from her flat that she had wanted to try out since she had moved there.

On her way to the shop she passed a magazine store that displayed today’s news. She did a double take when she saw the cover. There was a picture of her and Ivy on it, that had been taken in front of the police station. The quality was low and she assumed it had been made by a phone camera. In the picture Harley was blowing a raspberry at the police while Ivy had an arm wrapped around her shoulders. Ivy was laughing, her eyes fixed on Harley. The headline said “New villain team up terrifies Gotham City”.

Harley quickly bought a copy. Some reporter must have worked overtime for it to be already printed. She bought some food and started reading on her way home. The article summarized last night’s events. Apparently, the Batman had arrived later that night but hadn’t been able to do much against the plants. The police ended up cutting them down one by one after the Bat had left. The article also mentioned some of Harley’s and Ivy’s solo coups. Harley was surprised to find out that Ivy was best known for attacking companies that polluted the environment. She felt like she had found another connection between her conversation with Pamela and Poison Ivy.

Once she was at home and had had lunch, she felt full of energy again. She wondered if Ivy had already seen the news. Either way, Harley had an Idea. She found a pen and sat down with the newspaper. Next to the picture she wrote in red letters “We make a great team!”. Harley hesitated a little. She wanted to write more than that. She wanted to tell Ivy about her thoughts, but she was sure she would end up writing a multi-page rant that would barely make any sense. Harley took a deep breath and wrote down: “Coffee at five?”. She couldn’t stop herself from drawing a tiny heart next to it. 

She shoved it under Ivy’s door the way Ivy had invited her before. She returned to her flat and laid down on her bed. Her heart was beating faster than it should have done. Now there was nothing she could do but wait.

Harley went to the coffee shop with mixed feelings. She obviously was nervous. Also she couldn’t be sure if Ivy had seen her invitation. She neither knew if Ivy still wanted to go out with her. In retrospective it might have been smarter to simply message her on her phone but it was too late for that. Harley decided to wait for her on the fire escape she had climbed on last time. She would be able to see Ivy if she came but it would be less embarrassing if she got ditched. 

When she entered the street she could see a figure standing on the fire escape. Harley’s heart did a little jump. Pamela waved at her as she got closer.

“Looking for someone up there?” Harley asked with a smile.

“For you, actually” Pamela replied with the exact same words Harley had used the day before. She climbed down gracefully and took Harleys offered arm. There was a tension between them and Harley knew it couldn’t be just because they both knew how dangerous the other could be. 

The table they had sat on the day before was free again and Harley took it as a good omen. She ordered the same drink with a piece of chocolate cake. Ivy got a black coffee and a cinnamon bun. They sat in silence for a minute not sure how to start the conversation they had to have. 

“I must admit I didn’t think working in botany would be that dangerous” Harley finally said.

Ivy smiled. “To be fair, I didn’t expect a psychologist to walk around dressed up as a Harlequin at night” she said.

Harley snorted. “Guess there is more to both of us than meets the eye”.

Ivy smiled. “So you really didn’t know who I was?” she asked.

“No Idea” Harley confirmed.

“It actually was coincidence that you moved in next to me?” she asked in disbelieve.

Harley nodded. “Also because the landlord doesn’t do a good background check” she said. 

Ivy laughed. “She really doesn’t” she agreed.

“You didn’t know who I was either?” Harley asked. 

“Not at all” Ivy said. She looked closer at Harley’s face. “Now that I know the truth the resemblance is obviously there”. She shrugged. “But to be honest I had always assumed you wore white face paint and not the other way around”.

Harley touched her face self-consciously. 

“Not that I don’t like the way you look” Ivy said quickly. 

“You do?” Harley asked.

Ivy blushed. “I guess I do” she said.

The two of them starred at each other for a moment.

Harley smiled. “That’s great because I think you look absolutely amazing!” she said with a little wink.

Ivy blushed even more. “That’s nice” she said a little awkward.

Harley nodded. “It is” she said.

Ivy smiled, looking braver again. “So, are you going to do anything about it?” she asked.

“Yeah, how about this?” Harley asked. She leaned in halfway across the table. A little part of her mind told her how stupid she would look if Ivy didn’t go along with it. She didn’t have to worry. Ivy leaned in as well and softly kissed Harley on the lips. 

The sensation was out of this world. Harley could have sworn that no kiss had ever made her heart beat as fast as it did now. The kiss seemed to last an eternity but it ended way too soon. Harley leaned back a little out of breath.

“Is that what you were imagining?” Ivy asked. 

“I’m not sure” Harley managed to say. “You might have to try again”.

Ivy laughed. “I’ll make sure to do it right this time” she said as she leaned in again.

Harleys drink was cold once she remembered to sip on it. Ivy had captured her whole attention. They were talking about something but neither of them seemed to make too much sense. Harley started to dislike the table for keeping a distance between them. It would be so much easier if she could climb on Ivy’s lap. 

At some point Ivy had paid for them. Harley was a little sad as that meant that their date would end soon. She was trying hard to come up with a reason not to leave when Ivy asked: “Wanna come over to my flat?”

“There’s nothing I’d like to do more” Harley admitted.

The next morning Harley woke up in a plant filled bedroom. The remarkable thing was that she remembered exactly how she had gotten there. She sunk back into her pillows, careful not to lay down on the mess of red hair that filled the space next to her. Ivy looked the most peaceful Harley had ever seen her in her sleep. She carefully stroked a few curls out of her face. The moment felt serene. 

Harley felt like this might be the beginning of something big. She was looking forward to getting to know Ivy better and she knew she would have to put work into it. She knew she would have to work on herself to make this last. But she was extremely willing to do this if it meant she would get to wake up like this over and over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week was a wild couple of days, huh? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed some fluff. I’m kind of sad this is finished now, but I’m looking forward to my next work!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! English is not my first language so feel free to point out any mistakes you have noticed. Hit me up on tumblr: [@ahsoka-dyke](https://ahsoka-dyke.tumblr.com/)


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